Her cuban ballet teacher put María the nickname of Massiel. She made her debut in 1966 with "Di que no", considered as one of the first protest songs in Spain, a genre that would increase its popularity till the end of the Franco's dictatorship.
She gained inmediately success with hits like "Rosas en el mar", "Rufo el Pescador" or "Aleluya nº1" and appearances in song contests like Vina del Mar, Majorca and Rome. She also made films like "Vestida de novia" and "codo con codo". All her songs had compromised lyrics so she was then catalogued as a "protest singer".
During the 1968 spring she was touring Mexico when Spanish Television called her urgently to represent Spain in the 13th Eurovision Song Contest due to the withdrawal of Joan Manuel Serrat who wanted to sing in catalan the song "La, la, la".
Serrat announced his intention just 15 days before going to London, so Massiel had to came back to Madrid, record the song in Spanish, English, French and German, appear in some european tv stations and go to Paris to buy a costume designed by Courrèges specially for the Contest. Eventually, she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "La, la, la", which earned 29 points, beating out famous British pop crooner Cliff Richard, who placed second that year with "Congratulations". She continued to perform in Stage shows, and records music.
Massiel appeared in the film Cantando a la Vida filmed in 1968, which profiled a winner of a European Song festival suddenly disappearing. Massiel had the lead role as "Maria". The movie was filmed in Andalucía, Spain. Massiel sang the entire soundtrack to the film, and raked in 9,020,397 pesetas from the box office.
In 1977, she released an album covering the music of Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill in Spanish, called "Baladas Y Canciones De Bertolt Brecht".
During the 80's Massiel, for her popularity in the local market with popular hits like "Eres", "Mas fuerte que el viento", "El Noa-Noa", "Maria de los guardias", was an invited artist at the Festival de Vina del Mar in Chile.
At the time Chile was under the dicatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Massiel after singing for an hour, received the most important prize of the festival: "La Gaviota de Plata" (The Silver Seagull) In her her speech thanking the public for her "Gaviota" she said: "Thank you Chile, I would like to let you kno that Patricio Manns says hello from the Andes Mountains", the public cheered and celebrated her announcement. Patricio Mans is a well know composer, poet, member of the Chilean Communist Party who was in exile in Sweden following the September 11th, 1973 coup d'etat against Salvador Allende.
She has recorded more than 50 records, having worked for no less than 5 record companies: Zafiro, Polygram, Hispavox, Bat Discos y Emasstor. She has been married three times and has a son, Aitor, born in 1977, from her second husband, a socialist politician called Carlos Zayas. Since 1996 she is retired from singing due to the "dictatorship of radio stations and commercial charts" but she is still a popular woman and is a regular in different tv programmes. .
She re-recorded her Eurovision winner "La, la, la" in 1997, with a "hip-hop" sort of beat, background singers, whistling, and spanish percussion.
in 2005, Massiel appeared on the 50th Anniversary special of the Eurovision Song Contest, and sang the song that made her internationally famous. She also was invited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of TVE during a special gala.
Currently she is working on Tve's Misión Eurovisión, a serie of special programmes to choose the spanish representative and song for Eurovision 2007.
La La La
Massiel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo canto a la mañana
que ve mi juventud.
Y al sol que día a día
nos trae nueva inquietud
Todo en la vida es
te cantan cuando naces
y también en el adiós
La la la la...
Yo canto a mi madre
que dió vida a mi ser
y canto a la tierra
que me ha visto crecer
Y canto al día en que
sentí el amor
andando por la vida
aprendí esta canción
La la la la...
The lyrics of Massiel's song "La La La" evoke a sense of appreciation for life and its various elements. The opening line "La la la la..." is catchy and tends to stick in one's mind. The first verse speaks about singing to the morning, which represents youth, and to the sun that brings new challenges every day. The words "nueva inquietud" (new restlessness) suggest that life is full of uncertainties and that we must learn to deal with them as they come. The next line, "Todo en la vida es te cantan cuando naces, y también en el adiós" (All in life, they sing to you when you're born, and also in farewell) can be interpreted as a recognition of the cyclical nature of life. It is a reminder that we come from and will return to the same place someday.
Continuing on, the lyrics express gratitude towards the singer's mother for giving her life and towards the earth for being the witness to her growth. The last line, "aprendí esta canción" (I learned this song by walking through life), suggests that this appreciation for life wasn't always there, but that it was gained through personal experiences.
In conclusion, "La La La" is a joyful and reflective song that encourages us to enjoy life even in its challenges and to be grateful for the things and people that make it worth living.
Line by Line Meaning
La la la la...
Massiel starts the song with a meaningless phrase to create a rhythm and catchy tune.
Yo canto a la mañana
Massiel sings about praising the morning, which symbolizes youthfulness and new beginnings.
que ve mi juventud.
She mentions that the morning sees her youthfulness, where the youth represents the innocence and purity of a young being.
Y al sol que día a día
She next mentions the sun, which represents hope and positivity in life.
nos trae nueva inquietud
The sun also brings new challenges and responsibilities for individuals to overcome, and that is what gives meaning to our lives.
Todo en la vida es
Massiel takes a philosophical stance that everything in life is a cycle.
te cantan cuando naces
People sing songs of joy and celebration when a baby is born and comes into the world.
y también en el adiós
Similarly, people sing songs when someone passes away as a way of saying goodbye and honoring their life.
Yo canto a mi madre
Massiel expresses her love and gratitude towards her mother in this line.
que dió vida a mi ser
She acknowledges that her mother gave birth to her and is the reason for her existence.
y canto a la tierra
She also sings about praising the earth, which is the source of all life and sustenance on this planet.
que me ha visto crecer
The earth has witnessed and nurtured her growth, and that is why she is grateful for it.
Y canto al día en que
Massiel sings about a special day in her life.
sentí el amor
She talks about experiencing love for the first time.
andando por la vida
Massiel has learned this song while walking through the journey of her life.
aprendí esta canción
The song she is singing now is something she learned through her life experiences and is grateful for it.
La la la la...
Finally, Massiel concludes the song with the catchy phrase once again to create a lasting impression on the listener.
Contributed by Eva O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@santxitosan
La la la la la la la la la la...
Yo canto a la mañana
Que ve mi juventud
Y al sol que día a día
Nos trae nueva inquietud
Todo en la vida es
Como una canción
Que cantan cuando naces
Y también en el adiós
La la la la la la la la la la...
La la la la la la la la...
La la la la la la la la la la...
La la la la la la la...
Le canto a mi madre
Que dio vida a mi ser
Le canto a la tierra
Que me ha visto crecer
Y canto al día en que
Sentí el amor
Andando por la vida
Aprendí esta canción
La la la la la la la la la la...
La la la la la la la la...
La la la la la la la la la la...
La la la la la la la la.
@musicislife9782
Es que todo es perfecto - la voz de la cantante, su actitud, sus movimientos, su cara sonriente, los coros, la orquesta, la letra, la música, el ambiente! Todo! Esto es una joya!
@vicentinigo2696
Si
@azote9
prefiero el chiki chiki, no se como no gano
@esperanzaromarizgonzalez5344
@@vicentinigo2696 si
@rociogonzalezvidal
@@azote9bienvenido al grupo, amigo 😁
@maruchycordovesvazquez6292
Soy española.El día que ganó Massiel eurovisión yo tenía 11 años.En aquel momento no sentí nada, pero ahora se me puso la piel de gallina.Recuerdo que al llegar al colegio una monja nos dijo que el vestido era demasiado corto.A mí me dió la risa. Como eran las monjas de entonces.Massiel ibas preciosa.
@saraisabelperabazgimenez3354
Maruchy Cordovés Vázquez lol
@pedrorobertocaro6872
Yo soy de Argentina. También tenía 11 años en ese entonces. Volver a escuchar ésta canción ahora me trae muchísimos recuerdos. Demasiada nostalgia !!!
@saraisabelperabazgimenez3354
Pedro Roberto Caro lol
@saraisabelperabazgimenez3354
Maruchy Cordovés Vázquez loo